Grand Junction in June (Denver, Boulder: travel, suburbia, commuter)

[KevK]

I am invited there for an event. I have only been to Denver, Boulder and Co Springs in the past. This places looks kind of out of the way- over close to Utah on the map. So I assume I will have to fly to Denver and drive an unfamiliar car over an unfamilair road. What is I-70 like that way? Does it have twisting hairpin turns and steep mountain grades or is it easy to drive? What is the weather like in June- OK or snow? Do you get cell service along that route?

[jazzlover]

I-70 is a relatively easy, if often traffic-choked drive from Denver to Grand Junction. Recreational suburbia most of the way. Weather in June can be everything from snow showers in the mountains to 100 plus degrees in Grand Junction. Late June is often one of the hottest and driest periods in Grand Junction. Cell service is fairly good from Denver to Grand Junction, except for Glenwood Canyon, which has some dead spots.

You could also fly into Salt Lake City and drive east to Grand Junction. Longer distance, but usually less traffic and less mountain roads to contend with--just a lot of desert. The Salt Lake airport is less of a pain in the *** than DIA, in my opinion, and isn't located another 20 miles out of town like Denver's is.

From both Denver and Salt Lake, there is commuter air service into Grand Junction, but it usually isn't cheap.

There is also Amtrak service into Grand Junction--my preferred travel method if being on time is not a concern. The ride from Denver to Grand Junction is quite nice, and does not parallel I-70 for more than half of the distance--some areas along the route are not even road accessible.

[tpabes]

A Coloradan can better answer this, but I'll tell you what I know from relatives in Grand Junction. First of all there are flights into Grand Junction from Denver, Salt Lake and I believe Phoenix. I-70 is defiently not your normal interstate highway, there will be some tight turns (nothing like switchbacks though) and steep grades. If you have any experience driving in mountains you should be able to handle it. In June it will probably hot, as for cell service I'm guessing you would probably have it close to the whole way depending on your carrier.

[KevK]

Thank you. Maybe I will take the Salt Lake way if I can find a cheap fare!

[brightdoglover]

I-70 is a gorgeous drive, for an interstate.

I have seen a white-out snowstorm at 10,000 feet on I-70 ON JULY 4TH. Only two hours, and then it all ended and melted, but you could see the fresh snow on the high peaks. Gorgeous. All the tourists were jumping out of their cars in shorts and sandals.
Dunno about cell service. I haven't driven it since being so late in carrying a cell phone. It should be OK, though, as I had service in more remote areas of Utah (although not in the southern part of the state).
Should be a lovely trip either by train or car in June.

[CosmicWizard]

Be prepared for hot sunny weather in Grand Junction during the month of June, especially during the 2nd half of the month. In the summer of 2007, the month of June featured 16 days with high temperatures of 95 or hotter, with humidity of less than 10%. Although the days are really hot, it's actually quite pleasant because the nights still cool down into the lower 60s.

blessings...Franco